Dear Beloved

Since days untold, the people of West Eraidus had gazed across the ocean with scorn. There, the city of Lann shone with such life, yet Vain and Mal received no such luxury. Everything beyond the borders of Rot had been secondary to the rulers of Eraidus.

It was only natural that the young would grow angry at the status quo, and so, they did. Many sailed across the ocean, where they were welcomed by Lann's light, yet others saw this generosity as weakness. Gracious Lann was disgustingly weak. The people of Eraidus, too, were disgustingly weak.
The ambition to conquer, as their ancestors had once done, arose in the hearts of the many.

It was they who had preyed on Lann's growing imbalance in wealth to stoke the fires of rebellion.
It was they who had convinced the King of Lann to betray Yve.
And it was they who had convinced the rulers of Yve to betray Lann.

They had received money to assault Lann's lands, and were paid even more to defend it. Truly, ruling the continent across the sea was far more lucrative than toiling away in the Slow God's lands.

Lann's King may have cottoned on to the truth. Yve's Princess may have escaped death once or twice. But today, all of those problems will go away.
Everything will vanish into white.

◇ ◇ ◇

An army of Lann marches into snowfields, proudly waving their flag along a path of conquest. Yve will surely meet them, and the two will fight.
The fight doesn't matter, in the end; if either army is to win, Eraidus will lose. That's why, in distant parallel with Lann's army, a small force of Eraidens stand by, awaiting their perfect time to strike.
They know, in their hearts, what they must do...
A king and queen shall die this day.

"Commander, we've spotted life up ahead."
"Larilan or animal?"
"It's hard to say."
"All of you, stay hidden! Move as if you may be spotted at any moment!"

The group approaches, increasing their pace over Lann's army. It quickly becomes clear to them that the movement they caught up ahead is, in fact, the movement of people.
No other Eraidens should be present. That can only mean one thing: the people ahead are enemies.

"Squad B, go ahead. Eliminate the foreign targets."

Half of the small force split off and run on ahead, while the other half fall back to once again match Lann's pace. But as the two groups turn their backs to one another, in the growing distance between them, an individual appears.

A long coat flutters in a once non-existent breeze. Feathers upon his shoulders begin to sway back and forth, faster and faster. From where he stands, a wind is beginning to blow.
The figure stands in the snow, as translucent as crystal ice.

"Show me perseverance, my dear beloved Larilans."

A storm begins to swallow the snowfield.

"May grand ambitions fall short."

◇ ◇ ◇

"We've lost sight of Squad B!"
"Tch, I didn't hear anything about there being a storm today."

The commander complains to himself. "It's like the gods are laughing at us..."
Regaining his composure, he shouts a command to his nearby troops, but no sound escapes him. A forceful wind steals his voice, leaving him gasping for air.
He turns to the left. Nothing but snow.
He turns to his right. He can't see anything.

"Regroup on me!"

His shouts reach no one. Out of all the places for a storm to start, this is surely the worst. All their planning, years of preparation, and some genius improvisation at the very end had brought them to this perfect moment, and now, due to nothing but bad luck, it was on the verge of being ruined.

"Screw this. I'll do it myself if I have to."

The commander plods through the slow, stepping with caution. His eyes see only white, his ears hear only wind, but he's determined to complete his mission.
Lann are right of me. Yve were just barely in sight. Their armies should meet soon. All I have to do is turn northwest and walk until I can hear their troops.

A king and queen shall die this day, no matter what!

◇ ◇ ◇

"Hildna, stick close!"

Miv stands proud, shielding me from a sudden harsh wind. "A storm? Now?"
The six of us group together. If we lost anyone now, it'd be disastrous. Forget doing what we came here to do; we wouldn't even be able to survive long enough for that.

Clash!
Metal meets metal.
"Assassins!" Gart yells out, his blade already well-prepared to defend. "Eraidens!"
Eraidens? Here? Were they planning something again? Whatever they're up to, we can't let them get to Vio or Feana.
I remove the cube from my pocket. In times like this, I wish I could still feel at least a little heat from using it, but at least with this power at my disposal, I can help defend.

"Jus, I'm doing it."
"Got it!"

She turns around to face away from the fighting.
With only Jus behind me, everyone else is stuck facing the enemy. I'll have to be careful with how I use my power. I don't know how it works in conditions of poor visibility, but I know some certainties. Only Jus and I will be able to see, and only those looking away from me will be able to move.

"I wish they could see!"

With no time to think about the command, an unspecified, unknown vision takes over the area. The fighting comes to a stop, briefly.

"Jus!"
"I'm on it!"

With speed, Jus pulls her allies back and slashes each foe she can find. One, two, three, four.
With the last, I drop the cube back into my pocket.
"Keep your guard up!" I shout without pause. It must be a bit disorienting to suddenly snap back out of a vision, especially when you return to the site of a snowstorm, but a soldier's focus is quickly regained.

Ever so slowly, our group marches forward. We can't be picky about our destination anymore, so with help from our maps, we try to make our way towards the nearest vantage point. I'm not sure I'll even be able to see the armies in this weather, but we have to stick to the plan.

Clash!
Another attack. It's a single assassin on their own this time, but the sound of battle seems to attract another. As they jump in to attack, the cube in my hand glows, the words leave my mouth, and everyone stops.
This time, our force was more than prepared. Agin and Fren, knowing the two assassins were ahead of them, push on with their attack. Even with their vision taken up by a projection, they know how to cut down an enemy.

The vision ends just as two bodies fall to the floor, their dying faces uncomfortably clear to me. I'm sure I'll learn their names eventually, and all that they loved, whether I want to or not.

Our guard remains high. From the twitchy reactions of Miv beside me, it's clear that something else is moving in the snow. Will it be one person? Two? More?
Those I love are clear in my mind. I will not die here, no matter what.

With a database of death in hand, I prepare for another attack.

◇ ◇ ◇

"--Keep fighting!"

In the snow, I can hardly see, I can hardly hear at all.

"--I said, keep fighting!"

The blood-soaked white beneath me makes it hard to move.
The duty within me makes it hard to cry.
With a dumb grin on my face, I continue to shout.

"For the Queen!"